Following its October 2023 world premiere in Switzerland, the acclaimed production expands its reach through new audio recordings and upcoming American staging dates.
World Premiere and OperaVision Streaming Debut
Commissioned for the reopening of the newly renovated art-brut style Theater St. Gallen in Switzerland, Lili Elbe premiered on October 22, 2023, before making its streaming debut on OperaVision on December 8, 2023. The production remained available on-demand until June 8, 2024. Founded in 2014, OperaVision operates as a free streaming platform supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe program.
The work is Tobias Picker’s seventh opera. His sixth opera, Awakenings, debuted in 2022 with a libretto also written by Aryeh Lev Stollman. Reviewers praised the St. Gallen staging as an evening full of nightmares and hopes, with a fearless, always fascinating Lucia Lucas at the center, an iridescent experience, gripping in its truthfulness,
according to coverage in the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Historical Roots of a Pioneering Life
The opera’s subject, Lili Elbe, was born Einar Wegener, a landscape painter married to Gerda Gottlieb, a book illustrator and fashion design painter. According to historical accounts detailed in recent cultural reporting, Wegener initially sat in female costume as a model for an absent actress named Anna Larssen. That moment unlocked a lifelong inner truth.
The marriage was eventually annulled by the King of Denmark, who also sanctioned a legal name change. Medical interventions followed, beginning with Erwin Gorbandt in Dresden and continuing under Kurt Warnekros at Dresden’s Municipal Women’s Clinic, where the patient adopted the surname Elbe after the adjacent river. Lili Elbe died on September 13, 1931, from complications following a fourth surgery involving a uterus transplant attempt.
Casting Milestones and Creative Collaboration
The production marks a significant milestone as the first grand opera written about a historical transgender figure for a transgender performer. American heldenbaritone Lucia Lucas starred in the title role while also contributing as dramaturg to the composer and librettist. Tobias Picker previously cast Lucas as Don Giovanni during his tenure as Artistic Director of Tulsa Opera, making her the first transgender opera singer in a leading role on the American stage.
“From their two distant cities, their voices rise together in a last duet –declaring their love for each other that only grows and never looks back.”
Official Synopsis, via ebar.com
The St. Gallen staging was conducted by Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Modestas Pitrenas, directed by Krystian Lada, and choreographed by Frank Fannar Pedersen. Die Welt critic Manuel Brug described the piece as a timely and relevant opera that deserves to be widely performed,
while Opernglas noted its exciting, multifaceted, multi-layered score.
Upcoming American Premiere Plans
The production continues its trajectory with an upcoming American premiere scheduled at Santa Fe Opera from August 1 to August 27, 2026, accompanied by a slate of ancillary events. The staging is a co-production with Seattle Opera, though specific performance dates for the Seattle engagement remain to be announced.
Ahead of the Santa Fe dates, Bright Shiny Thing’s new audio recording released an audio-only recording of the world premiere. Reviewers note that the audio release allows listeners to experience the staccato, chugging rhythms and Bernstein-ish overtures of Picker’s score without visual preconceptions, complementing the video recording that later surfaced online with subtitles.
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